Ben Whishaw is next Q in 'Skyfall'

By Adnan Tezer Nov 30, 2011, 20:03 GMT

Ben Whishaw will play M16 gadget inventor Q in the 23rd James Bond film called "Skyfall."

According to Variety, Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli are producing with shooting underway.

The film will open in the U.K. and Ireland on October 26, 2012, and in North America on November 9, 2012.

Sam Mendes is directing from a script by Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and John Logan.

Daniel Craig is returning as 007.

The cast includes Javier Bardem (who will be the villain) as well as Albert Finney, Ralph Fiennes, Judi Dench, Helen McCrory, Ola Rapace and Bond girls Naomie Harris and Bérénice Marlohe.

In "Skyfall," Bond's loyalty to M (Dench) is put to the ultimate test when a critical element of her past comes back to haunt her. When MI6 is put in jeopardy, Bond must eliminate the threat no matter the cost.

MGM and Sony are co-financing and distributing the film, which is shooting in London and Pinewood Studios as well as Shanghai, China, Istanbul and other parts of Turkey and Scotland.

Q was portrayed for 36 years in the Bond franchise by Desmond Llewelyn and then briefly for three years by John Cleese.

This is the first time that Q will be younger than 007.

Whishaw is 31 while Craig is 43.

Whishaw's film credits include "Brideshead Revisited," "I'm Not There" and "Perfume: The Story of a Murderer."